Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of October 30, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of October 30, 2022

Fund Drive

Our Fall 2022 Fund Drive, Video with Vision: Always Learning, starts Tuesday! Please spread the word amongst your networks. Thank you to everyone who has recorded promos, promoted our drive thus far and made an early donation. You can donate through the button below, or send a check to ThinkTech Hawaii, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 603, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. We appreciate your help and support.

  DONATE  

Time Changes

Daylight Savings Time will end next Sunday, Nov. 6, 2021. Hawaii time stays the same, but clocks for most other time zones will move an hour back, so the time difference for them will be 1 hour less. Reminder to reconfirm times for your shows if you or your guests are on the mainland.

Graphics

As a ThinkTech Host, you are more familiar with our Graphics Guidelines and resources than any guest. For that reason, you are responsible for completing the permission form and ensuring that all graphics for your show follow the guidelines. If you have questions or need help, please let me know at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Playlist Views

Have you checked your playlist views? As host Martin Despang pointed out during this year's Host Meeting, you can see them when you click the link to your show's YouTube playlist. use your show playlist see the number of times people viewed your show playlist. Please note that this is different from total video views: https://tubefluence.com/how-does-youtube-count-playlist-views/

Promotion Tip

Submit your episodes to online media platforms, such as local news sites and organization newsletters. For example, you can write an article for Civil Beat's Community Voices and include related information from your shows. This tip comes from Peter Rosegg, who presented on this topic during the Host Meeting. See his article at https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/09/a-two-wheel-revolution-is-happening-on-oahu/

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of October 23, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:
Host Bulletin, Week of October 23, 2022

Thanks to all who joined this year's Host Zoom Meeting! In case you missed it or want to see it again, watch the video below.

This was the agenda:

1. Creating shows (finding and prepping guests, gathering information and graphics) - Host Kathleen Lee
2. Sending show information and graphics (titles and tagline, forms, schedule, deadlines, cancellations) - Hayley
3. How to look and sound good (equipment, software, location, computer and Zoom settings) - Michael
4. Show content (subjects, opening/closing, introductions, framing questions, interruptions, content flow) - Eric
5. Promoting your shows (email, social media, personal networking and other publicity techniques) - Host Peter Rosegg
6. ThinkTech planning directions (format, coverage, viewership, fundraising, future projects) - Jay and Carol
7. Dates for your calendar: no show recordings Thanksgiving Day 11/24; Annual Awards Ceremony 12/8, 5-7:30pm; no show recordings during Holiday break 12/19-1/1/23 - Jay and Carol

The presentations are available at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19FPuf63Ql2OuWEiH6LJuBxOJL1TJRa-Q?usp=sharing.

If you have any questions about the discussion, please let us know.

Note that our 2022 Fall Fund Drive is about to begin.  Please contribute as much as you can to keep us going.

Thanks so much, everybody.  Great to see so many of you.  Looking forward to “meeting" again next year.

Best,
Hayley

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of October 16, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of October 16, 2022

Remember to Register!

This year's All Host Zoom Meeting is this Friday, October 12 at 9:00 am HST. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qf-mrqTwtE9R60n3yWFAQR8T6G7Yf7E0T to get your Zoom link. Our staff and some of our hosts are preparing presentations for this invaluable get-together. We'll send you the agenda before the meeting. This should be very helpful to everyone.  Please plan to attend.

Distinguished Guest Election/Survey

Voting is open! Thanks to everyone who made nominations. Click here to cast your ballot for ThinkTech Distinguished Guest. Vote only once, but feel free to share the link.  Last month's winner was J.K. Lin, nominated by host Mark Shklov of "Law Across the Sea". We also appreciate your response to our Current Events Survey. Voting closes tomorrow, October 17 and we'll announce the results in our email advisories on the 20th.

Camera Recommendations

We want you to look your best on your shows, and we have found that external USB cameras provide better video than the ones built into your computers.  Consider using Logitech (or similar) USB cameras given their price, video quality, portability and adjustability: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=logitech+usb+camera&crid=2MBT0NSSQKWLS&sprefix=logitech+usb+camer%2Caps%2C217&ref=nb_sb_noss_2. If you'd like to discuss any particular camera, please let me know.

Solo Shows

Solo shows should be the exception. Alternatives to consider:

1. Contact other hosts and/or shows@thinktechhawaii.com for guest recommendations.
2. Contact us at shows@thinktechhawaii.com to reschedule the show at a time more convenient for a possible guest.
3. Pre-record the show with a guest at a time that will be more convenient for a possible guest, using your own Zoom account. Tell us about this in advance, since it will involve additional staff time and expense.

If you do the show solo, use slides and other graphics to break it up and add visual interest. Please follow our Graphics Guidelines at thinktechhawaii.com/graphics-guidelines.

Promotion Tip

Need further help finding guests? One other way to connect with new guests is by posting your show to related Facebook and LinkedIn groups, and making connections there.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of October 9, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of October 9, 2022

All Host Zoom Meeting 10/21/22, 9:00 am HST

 Save the date! Register for our All Host Zoom Meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qf-mrqTwtE9R60n3yWFAQR8T6G7Yf7E0T. This is your opportunity to get together and compare notes with long-time and newer hosts, as well as our staff. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

Graphics / No Screen Sharing

All graphics must be submitted by 10 pm HST the night before the show. Screen sharing those graphics on Zoom reduces the video quality, so please do not display graphics that way. Review our Graphics Guidelines before submitting your graphics. We cannot accept graphics without a permission form and proper labels. This is, of course, to avoid claims by copyright owners and problems with upload platforms.

Connecting By Phone

Be ready to get on your phone and call the Zoom telephone numbers (listed with the Zoom link we send you) if there are connectivity issues. Have a phone stand, books, and/or some tape ready to get your device into the proper position. Also, make sure to send us up-to-date cell numbers for your guests.  They will be critical if there are connectivity issues.

Camera Settings

Want easier control over your camera video? We recommend iGlasses for Mac: https://www.ecamm.com/mac/iglasses/. The free trial lasts seven days and the full program costs $19.95.

Promotion Tip

Express your pride as a ThinkTech Host! You work hard to make your shows great. Tell colleagues and people you meet that you're a talk show host on ThinkTech Hawaii, a nonprofit that has produced over 12,000 talk shows and short movies, and streams 30 new live talk shows every week. Send them to your shows and a link to your playlist when you can.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of October 2, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of October 2, 2022

Distinguished Guest Nominations Are Open

Click here to nominate a guest from one of your September shows to be selected a Distinguished Guest! Only the first 10 nominations will make the ballot. Nominations close this Friday, October 7 and voting will begin on the 10th. Election results will be posted in our email advisories on October 20. The winning candidate for Distinguished Guest will be profiled in a short video for our livestreams and social media.  Last month's winner was J.K. Lin, nominated by host Mark Shklov of "Law Across the Sea".

Host Meeting 10/21/22, 9:00 am HST

Our first virtual host meeting since last year!!  All ThinkTech Hosts are invited to a 45-minute Zoom meeting Friday, October 21, 9 am HST, to review productions and plans, share information and tips and get together with long-time and newer hosts.  Please save the date. You’ll receive a link and agenda before the meeting. We look forward to seeing you (virtually)!

Graphics

Permission forms are required when submitting graphics (except for the exemptions listed on the form), so make sure to send them in the same email or at the same time. We may not be able to accept late graphics or permission forms; they are due 10 pm HST the night before the show. If you need any help figuring out the form, let me know at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Audio

Please familiarize yourself with the audio settings in Zoom. The most important ones are speaker and microphone selections, volume sliders, background noise suppression, and echo cancellation. Do not shout or yell during the show - it creates inconsistent and uneven audio.

Promotion Tip

Need help with potential guests, topics, and questions? Create an email address for your show and include it in the Website to Display field on your Show Information Form so we can promote it in your episodes and other platforms. Peter Rosegg made thetwowheelrevolution@gmail.com for his new show "The Two-Wheel Revolution".

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.